1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to stacking and transporting devices for containers, particularly to stacking and transporting devices for beer kegs.
2. Description of prior Art
Draft beer is sold by brewers and distributors in generally cylindrical kegs of different sizes and containing different quantities of beer. Such kegs are extremely heavy, cumbersome, and difficult to transport and store conveniently.
Heretofore, a wide variety of beer keg pallets and other transporting and storing devices have been proposed and implemented.
Typically such pallets have been designed to hold four or five beer kegs at once making transport of such pallets extremely difficult and necessitating the use of a forklift or moveable hand truck. Such pallets were also not useful for moving or storing one or two beer kegs at a single time, for example, when used by individuals or for small deliveries. The use of such large pallets is difficult, inconvenient, and poses substantial risk of harm to the person attempting to move and place such unwieldy objects. Furthermore, recent changes in the shape of beer kegs has further compromised the use of such pallets, making the use of such pallets even more unsatisfactory. Traditionally such beer keg pallets were made out of wood. Recently such pallets made from various plastics have been patented. Such pallets support the beer kegs in a standing position on one end and thereby support the beer keg in only a single orientation.
A more recent approach is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,599 issued to Brown et al. and consists of a keg saddle having a circular disk and a concave bottom surface for the storage and support of two beer kegs. Such structure was unsatisfactory due to the inability of the user to reach the beer dispensing mechanism on beer kegs when beer kegs were stacked using this device, as no access was provided on this support structure. Furthermore, this type of keg saddle was unstable and very cumbersome when used to transport beer kegs due to a horizontal surface which extended from a concave lower surface.
A still different approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,600,033 issued to Baron where a guard for gas cylinder valves is shown having a cylindrical sleeve having a pair of flanges extending outward from the Cylindrical portion. Access to the valve was provided by openings in the cylindrical portion of the guard. Such gas cylinder valve guard, however, was not useful or adaptable to the stacking or transport of beer kegs.